The Teatro Real was recognized this Thursday night with the International Opera Awards for Sustainability, considered the Oscars of opera, for the energy efficiency improvements made to the roof and interior of the building, and for the efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. Justin Way, production director of the Teatro Real, expressed his gratitude upon receiving the award: “This is not only a recognition of what we have achieved, but also a motivation to move forward with even more energy and commitment, being a benchmark in sustainability,” and he shared the recognition with all opera theaters “as we all move forward trying to build a better future.”
The International Opera Awards were created by the British magazine Opera in 2012. The Teatro Real had already been distinguished in previous editions: in 2021 it was recognized as the best company in the world, the grand prize of these awards, for its programming during the 2019 season. In addition, in 2022 it was the host of the trophy presentation gala, in its first celebration outside of London.
The award was announced at a ceremony at the Greek National Opera, in which representatives of the Teatro Real – in addition to Way, Enrique Collell, general secretary, and Nuria Gallego, director of infrastructure and general services, attended – received the award from Sofia Dimtsa, director of corporate affairs and communication at PPC Group.
Since 2019, the Teatro Real has developed energy optimization work called the Most Sustainable Theater with the aim of being a building with almost zero energy consumption. At the beginning of this year, “a fifth facade” that faces the sky, a cover of photovoltaic panels that you can walk through, financed by European Next Generation funds, debuted on the building. The Madrid building was the first Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC) in Spain to obtain the energy certificate.
The recognition also consolidates the upward trajectory of a coliseum that emerged in 1997 after a silence of seventy years in which it remained closed and that has barely needed three decades to catch up with great houses such as the Metropolitan in New York, the Scala in Milan or the Royal Opera House in London. Already upon its reopening, after costly rehabilitation works to equip itself with the most modern machinery, the institution showed its vocation to invest in cutting-edge technology.
The other candidates competing with the Teatro Real in this category were the Wuppertal Opera (Germany), the Santa Fe Opera (USA), the Vienna Folk Opera (Austria), the Longborough Festival (United Kingdom) and the Leipzig Opera (Germany).